Geomorphological and GIS-Based Analysis of Catchment Areas in River Narmada, Central India

A drainage basin and river network morphometry offer information on water discharge, maximum and minimum specific run-off, and regional hydrological variance. The catchment areas of the Dudhi, Palakmati, and Ganjal rivers, all of which are tributaries of the Narmada River basin, will be undertaken using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS). Using ASTER, IRS LISS III data is combined with remote sensing satellite data to identify river course borders, river basins, stream networks, and different morphometric traits, using ArcGIS software. Stream orders range from first to sixth, with the Dudhi and Palakmati rivers having the fifth-order stream and the Ganjal River having the sixth-order stream. The morphometric study demonstrates that all catchment areas have drainage textures ranging from coarse to fine, defining them as typical basins with an elongation ratio of >0.9, indicating that they are circular in form and have drained a significant amount of water. The basin’s drainage area ranges from 172 to 1639 km2, and its drainage pattern is sub-dendritic to dendritic characterised as a series of streams with similar lithology and gently sloping topography. In higher-order streams, a high bifurcation ratio implies a big amount of water has been received in the upper basin area. In Ganjal and Dudhi, both drainage density and stream frequency are low, implying that surface run-off is not quickly drained from the basin, leaving it prone to flooding. The amount to which denudation agents have depressed the surface is not significantly impacted by gullies, and the stream length ratio rises from lower to higher order which indicates that an area is in its mature geomorphic stage. The majority of the morphometric parameters imply that river basin characteristics are heavily influenced by geology and geomorphological factors. This data, acquired through remote sensing techniques, can be utilised for river morphological applications and studies, such as monitoring current flood control projects, and findings can also be utilised to develop a plan for the study area’s long-term management.